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2. EVENTS

-> Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development - 29 Nov.- 2 Dec. 2008, Doha, QatarIn its resolution 62/187 of 19 December 2007, the UN General Assembly decided that the Follow-up International Conference to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus will be held in Doha, Qatar, from 29 November to 2 December 2008. The aim is to review the implementation of Monterrey's decisions and determine the new initiatives that would be necessary to meet the increasingly compromised Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The political challenge faced by governments lies in achieving specific agreements at the Doha Conference well beyond the minimum Monterrey Consensus.
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/eventos/54.html

-> World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings - 11-13 October 2008, Washington D.C.The 2008 Annual Meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) was held over the weekend of October 11-13, at the WB and IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. As in previous years, the Civil Society Policy Forum, a program of policy dialogues for civil society organizations (CSOs), was organized alongside the Annual Meetings. Also, from October 12 to 19, various citizen actions and mobilizations took place worldwide, as part of the Week of Global Action against Debt and IFIs.
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/eventos/62.html

-> Southern Bank: An alternative to the IFIs?This special coverage includes information and analysis on the constitution process of the Southern Bank: official documents, civil society initiatives and analysis on the negotiations to set out the Bank guidelines.
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/5631.html

-> The IDB has set its "roadmap" with civil society in MontevideoWithin the framework of the 8th IDB-Civil Society meeting held on October 17-18, 2008 in Montevideo, Uruguay, organizations taking part raised their concerns about the Bank’s actions before the IDB president and officials. As a result of the meeting, the Bank set a “roadmap” comprising a series of commitments to monitor the activities of the institution throughout the year.
Source: IFIs Latin American Monitor
http://ifis.choike.org/informes/928.html

-> Strong link between debt accumulation and trade, says UN Independent ExpertIn a statement on the Financing for Development Process, the Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human rights, Dr. Cephas Lumina, warned that "measures to enhance the terms of trade for indebted countries, should be part and parcel of long-term debt sustainability"."The evolution of HIPC beneficiaries after debt relief clearly shows the strong link between terms of trade and the process of debt accumulation," he said.
Source: Center of Concern
http://coc.org/node/6262

-> U.S. to lose stranglehold on World Bank presidencyIn a deal brokered by the United Kingdom's development secretary, the selection of the next World Bank president will be open to candidates from any country. Developing countries and civil society groups have grown increasingly frustrated that wealthy, Western nations have always headed the two multinational organizations, and have long called for reform in the selection process.
Source: Bank Information Center
http://ifis.choike.org/informes/914.html

-> World Bank loan 'threatens Amazon'The expansion of Brazil's cattle industry is widely regarded as being one of the greatest single threats to the Amazon rainforest. Now, environmentalists say deforestation in the fragile region, and consequently climate change, are set to worsen following the World Bank's (IFC) sponsorship of a major loan to Brazil's second-largest beef processors.
Source: Aljazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/10/20081013202631620827.html

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5. REPORTS

* The Interactive Panel of the United Nations General Assembly on the Global Financial CrisisThe United States Government and the Bretton Woods institutions had failed to adequately address the international financial crisis, and the United Nations must intervene as the one institution that was inclusive and had political legitimacy, Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, said during an interactive panel discussion on the global financial crisis, held by the U.N. General Assembly in October 30.
Source: United Nations
http://ifis.choike.org/informes/922.html

* We need a paradigm shiftEveryone now recognises the need to reform the international economic regime. But the idea should not simply be to fix a system that is obviously broken: we need to exchange it for a better model. That is because the current financial architecture has failed in some very important ways. Most importantly, the international financial system has failed to meet two obvious requirements: of preventing instability and crises, and of transferring resources from richer to poorer economies.
Source: networkideas.org
http://ifis.choike.org/informes/921.html

* The World Bank, Climate Change and EnergyThe World Bank is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world. Created in 1944, the Bank has now become the world’s largest public "development" agency, influencing the policies of the majority of the world’s developing and emerging economies. In recent years, noting the significant impact that climate change is already having on developing countries and the gap in financing mechanisms available for addressing these impacts, the World Bank has increasingly staked a claim for itself as a key player on the issue – with widespread criticism from developing country governments and civil society around the world.
Source: Halifax Initiative
http://www.halifaxinitiative.org/index.php/worldbank_factsheets/1116

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